November 5, 2008

Can you imagine the fury and rage we'd be seeing from the Republican Party right now if Michelle Obama said this country "continues to surprise?" Or that the US has not yet perfected the union? It would be fodder for days worth of classic wingnut thrashing and moaning. And they'd never forget it, either: Wingnuts in 2019 would still be reminding us about how Michelle Obama once said she was "surprised" about the USA.

Yes, I can. And let me remind everyone that I saw Michelle Obama give one of the speeches that were supposedly so horrendously anti-American, and as you can see from my report, I thought she was excellent and noticed no flaws.

It is probably understandable, but weird, to see the Secretary of State in a Republican Adminitration effectively celebrating the election of a new democratic president who was unfairly critical and even vicious toward her boss, President Bush. I think it reflects the beauty of America electing a black man president. It also reflects very well on Ms. Rice and, I think, her boss President Bush who has such a high regard for Rice and who did not obstruct her from making these complimentary statements about Obama. Sometimes, this is a beautiful country.

ps I don't like identity politics, but if the Republicans are smart, they will find the most gifted Hispanic in their party and groom him/her for national office. The democrats have locked up at least 90% of the black vote for the next 50 years. The Hispanic population is larger than the black population, the republicans currently get about 33% of the Hispanic vote, and they could bump it up to 75% or higher if they nominate an Hispanic for president or even vice president.

I would imagine that there is a big tension in the hearts and minds of some of these people like Rice. She know what's coming and that for her profession his is a pretty hard day with the liberal illuminati gaining power but at the same time she feels pride and joy for what has taken place. It's an interesting thing to watch.

Okay people, let's think this through. All of what Rice said so eloquently about race is hugely important. However, the Secretary of State is our primary speaker to other countries. When speaking to other countries, internal division means nothing. Furthermore, we spend a good deal of time and effort promoting both the idea of democracy and the idea of peaceful transfer of power.

Therefore, any Secretary of State is going to applaud any election result in this country because it promotes both those vital messages.

Kind of off-topic, but I've been thinking about it--I would really like to see several people from this administration write some very forthcoming biographies with lots of details about their time in office. They have nothing left to lose and, frankly, I think they owe us a reckoning.

Compare the kind of class displayed by Secretary Rice to this kind of display from our ever-thoughtful, ever-classy lefties. The people who made these repulsive images were rewarded yesterday for their years of hard work. I'm just sorry that, for all the good people who voted for Obama, all the repulsive ones got "rewarded" as well.

Can you imagine the fury and rage we'd be seeing from the Republican Party right now if Michelle Obama said this country "continues to surprise?" Or that the US has not yet perfected the union? It would be fodder for days worth of classic wingnut thrashing and moaning. And they'd never forget it, either: Wingnuts in 2019 would still be reminding us about how Michelle Obama once said she was "surprised" about the USA.

I don't like identity politics, but if the Republicans are smart, they will find the most gifted Hispanic in their party and groom him/her for national office.

The republicans are waaaaay ahead of you on the whole identity politics thing. That's the a leading reason McCain selected Palin: She was supposed to widen the (imaginary) Hillary/Obama rift. And a large part of the reason the Republican Party is enthusiastic about Bobby Jindall is because he can help inoculate them against the charge they are a whites-only party. To speak in the mean language of the Republican right, both Jindall and Palin are "affirmative action picks," desirable not for merit-based reasons but because they fit a certain racial or gender profile.

You are right that Palin was an affirmative action pick, but not with the same potential impact on the electorate as a Hispanic candidate. The presence of a woman on the ticket obviously does not move large numbers of women to that party even for one election, much less an extended time period(neither Ferraro nor Palin caused that), whereas the first Hispanic presidential or vp candidate clearly has the potential to move millions of Hipanic votes for a generation or more.

I don't see how Jindall fits in at all as an affirmative action pick. He has not been helped in any way by his Indian heritage, he has not been "picked" by anyone except voters, and there sure is not a mass of Indian votes waiting for the Republicans to scoop up.

2. Kansas City's plan sounds great. However, speaking as someone who's been following imm. issues for years and who's written thousands of posts about it, I can only think of three Mexican-American politicians who don't occasionally act like outright agents of the Mexican government would act. And, two of those are the Sanchez sisters, and I'm giving them both a huge break by including them in the list.

The current Hispanic GOP leaders are all pan-Hispanic nationalists in one way or another. And, some are basically just Bush stooges.

So, your plan might work, except for the fact that it would be difficult to find someone to fit your uniform who wouldn't do as much or more damage to the U.S. as BHO will do.

I don't like identity politics, but if the Republicans are smart, they will find the most gifted Hispanic in their party and groom him/her for national office. The democrats have locked up at least 90% of the black vote for the next 50 years. The Hispanic population is larger than the black population, the republicans currently get about 33% of the Hispanic vote, and they could bump it up to 75% or higher if they nominate an Hispanic for president or even vice president.

I think this contrived, and most importantly, CYNICAL way of thinking is a big problem for the Republican party. This idea of "finding" someone and "grooming" them. It doesn't work, obviously.

And while the cliche is repeated over and over again that Palin or a Token Mexican "energizes the base" and/or "motivates the base," I think it would behoove Republicans to come to terms with the fact that "the base," isn't big enough to win elections. Not anymore anyways, clearly.

The question is, who is the conservative party, and how can they win elections? Do they turn to the ultra religious right or do they embrace the moderate fiscal conservatives who are grounded in reality?

Try to imagine this woman as V.P...and that 95% of the idiots here think she's qualified

Fox News Chief Political Correspondent Carl Cameron appeared on The O'Reilly Factor tonight and described in much fuller detail the truly astonishing behavior, and lack of knowledge, of Sarah Palin on the campaign trail.

Cameron relates how McCain aides were terrified of Palin's lack of knowledge of international and national issues, and even basic civics.

Cameron reports that Palin was unfamiliar with the concept of "American exceptionalism," and that not only did she not understand that...

...Africa was a continent rather than a single country...

...but also that during debate prep Palin was unable to name all the nations in North America.

Sobering. And quite believable. To a degree I wouldn't have expected, it turned out Palin is completely uneducated. If she wants to run for president -- she's got a gift for politics, obviously -- she's got a lot a schoolin' to get through first. Like maybe 12 years of it.

My vote for Obama just got a lot more comfortable. The Cameron report is just as devastating to McCain as it is to Palin. The choosing of Palin and then the subsequent mismanagement of the whole situation. Yeesh. Consider McCain's loss a bullet dodged.

But given she's so clueless, how did she manage to hold her own against Joe Biden? That should scare Dems a little bit, doncha think? You betcha.

Zach -- You are 100 percent correct. A solid critique. These are tough times indeed, and sadly they are well-earned.

Some of the biggest pigs who feed at the public trough in Congress are Republicans. Bush did nothing to curb spending. The opposite, in fact. And in the same way that Clinton failed to head off the easily foreseen problems with terrorism, Bush failed to head off easily foreseen problems with the economy. He also let a war that was so obviously winnable drag on un-won for far too long.

Minority candidates would certainly be great to have. The Republican party is primarily the party of small businesspeople and the middle class, though, and it's a sad fact that minorities don't own more small businesses and aren't part of the middle class. In my view, we have all failed minorities in this regard and continue to fail them, but that's another debate for another time.

Anyway, what conservatives need is to go back to first principles and offer a strong military that wins wars, curbs federal spending and power, and sound fiscal policy. On the latter issues, we need to practice what we espouse in theory.

The good news is that hope and change and pie-in-the-sky liberalism don't work in the cold, hard world. We'll always have the effects of bad leftist policy as our trump card.

No one, but no one, Michael, denigrates this blog more than you, which is why you have been told many times you are not welcome here, but here you are, day after day, still showing up. You're one SICK dude.

JS:My vote for Obama just got a lot more comfortable. The Cameron report is just as devastating to McCain as it is to Palin. The choosing of Palin and then the subsequent mismanagement of the whole situation. Yeesh. Consider McCain's loss a bullet dodged.

On Meet the Press in 1968, the progressive hero Bobby Kennedy predicted that someone like Obama would emerge.

"Despite what is going on in the country, particularly in Alabama, things are moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be president in 40 years," he declared.

He thought such an eventuality inevitable, just as the election of his brother, a Roman Catholic, had been inevitable. "In the next 40 years," he went on, "a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother has...prejudice exists and probably will continue to...but we have tried to make progress and we are making progress.

We are not going to accept the status quo." His prescient words can be found in Excerpts in Rights for Americans: The Speeches of Robert F. Kennedy.

...Unlike Michael, who is a tool who, to my knowledge, has never said anything remotely interesting, who everyone wants gone, including many on the left, and who gets his comments deleted, which takes quite a lot of assholery at a place so tolerant as this one.

It's sad that a few commenters just don't have the social intelligence to be interesting.

Michael says that someone else said Palin was unable to name all the nations in North America.

Didn't watch it, but perhaps she was confused over the division between NA and CA?

Also, I realize this isn't anywhere near as important as geographical trivia, but BHO supports a Bush trade scheme that might be a precursor to joining the 57, er, I mean 3 countries in NA. See #18 here for the details.

So, let's imagine this choice:

1. someone who doesn't know where NA begins and ends

2. someone who wants to join the three nations into one happy trading zone with former U.S. citizens living not under the Constitution but some amalgam of U.S., Mexican, and Canadian laws.

I have little doubt that many "liberal" useful idiots would indeed choose the second.

Wacko -- I said I was leaving but I came back and I feel compelled to respond to you, briefly. Do you have any notion of the economic suffering the United States would endure if we instituted barriers with our #1 and #3 trading partners? I rest assured that you'd like to institute barriers against #2 China and #4 Japan as well.

The mind reels at the fundamental misunderstanding of economics involved in the conclusion to not do business and expect economic improvement.

Finally, please point to one single instance in which any aspect of the Constitution has been superseded by NAFTA.

Oh, I thought you left (now that's funny because you NEVER do leave even though you have been told to over and over again), and I answered your question yesterday. I'm fine with BHO as my president. Got it?

Condi has always frustrated me. Her being complicit and even a cheerleader for Bush's disastrous foreign policies, coupled with her charm, brilliance, and apparent reasonableness really drives me bonkers.

She would make a great Democratic candidate in 2016, we'll just need to groom her.

ZPS, the cognitive dissonance you feel is a result of not actually thinking about the Bush policies, instead just taking in the received wisdom your cohort has been passing around like a bad strain of mono.

Michael, can you understand one simple thing? Yes, I know this will be hard for you, as stupid and ignorant as you are. I don't care whether or not you think I'm racist, you don't know me, or anything about me. All you have is your own insane ideas, and no one here, except a few of your fellow lefties, gives any consideration over ANYTHING you have to say. Why don't you do as this blog admin has told you and go away and never come back?

The child of two educators who got merit scholarships and has helped four children through Geography 101?

I don't see anyone in the McCain camp benefiting from making these stories up and then leaking them to Carl "Hot Carl" Cameron. I have no reason not to believe they are true, especially after seeing her interviews and debate performance.

Also, if senior McCain aides are leaking these things, doesn't that make McCain look worse than Palin, for actually picking her and trying to pass her off for the past 2 months? Country First, anyone?

I appreciate the small minority of Palin fanatics out there (hey, they're loyal) who will defend her to no end. But at what point do they stop and say to themselves, "Ok, maybe she's not exactly who she says she is."

ZPS, the cognitive dissonance you feel is a result of not actually thinking about the Bush policies, instead just taking in the received wisdom your cohort has been passing around like a bad strain of mono.

That sentence makes absolutely no sense grammatically or argumentatively. But, thanks for trying.

The idea is not in any way *credible*. It requires a willful suspension of disbelief. It's like actually *believing* that Obama, who lived in HAWAII is not entirely aware that there are 50 states. It might be fun to needle people about the gaff but anyone who believes it is a moron.

This is the same magnitude. If John believes it, he is a moron.

The MOST gracious explanation I can think of is that Palin asked a clarifying question... Are you talking about the continent or the country? (And South Africa could mean either). In which case the story might not be an out and out fabrication but only a deliberate lie.

ZPS:I appreciate the small minority of Palin fanatics out there (hey, they're loyal) who will defend herto no end. But at what point do they stop and say to themselves, "Ok, maybe she's not exactly who she says she is."

I don't disagree with this point, and have been saying so since the KC interviews. However, that being said, she isn't any more stupid than Joe Biden, and he IS the VP.

She wasn't ready when her "staff" came to her hotel room because she'd just showered and was in a couple of hotel towels... waved them toward the sofa and told them to talk to Todd while she got ready.

ZPS, my Gunning Fog Index was a bit high (just shy of 18) so pardon me for packing a lot into a little.

Here's the short form: Palin isn't an idiot. She has establishment enemies that want to make her sound like an idiot.

Here's the meme:

Who lost the election for Republicans? Wasn't me, boss, must have been that rube from Alaska. What, the rube that outdrew all the other candidates at rallies, including the tops of the tickets? That's her, boss, lot's of rubes in the sticks, boss.Oh, that makes sense.

Are you saying you think it's dignified for a woman who has been selected to possibly represent our country as Vice President, to stroll into a room where two aides to the Presidential candidate are sitting, wearing nothing but a towel??

I just googled "Donn Day" and there were several results for horse racing, a Linked In Profile, and of course, the DONN DAY Divine Conspiracy website. This is very interesting and I will be reading as much as I can before I go to bed tonight. I hope to find out the origin or truth behind DONN's name first and foremost.

Here's the short form: Palin isn't an idiot. She has establishment enemies that want to make her sound like an idiot.

Why bother? They already lost. And the meme that I'm hearing is that they lost because of Lehman Bros, not Palin, not McCain, not Bush, just a last minute "crisis" that suddenly moved everyone, even Republicans, over to Obama, who had already defeated a Clinton when there was no crisis and led McCain in most polls before Palin, and before Lehman.

Get over it. No one cares why McCain lost. He lost because Obama was the better candidate with an overwhelmingly better ground game.

They aren't dissing Palin because they want to make it look like she fucked everything up, they're dissing her because she's an idiot and she pissed them off. The funny thing is that by dissing her they only make themselves look like the bigger tools for trotting her out in the first place.

Look, Zach... I don't expect everyone to like her. But I wish they would at least be decent. If your idea of a "joke" is a middle class person who put herself through school and got involved in her local politics and worked her way up while holding to a pretty strict idea of ethics and putting her career and advancement at risk to call people in her own party on ethics issues, and managed to defeat the incumbent in her own party to become a state governor then that's your idea of a joke.

As for who she *says* she is... what has she *said* she is that you dispute?

I know some libertarians like her... I don't think she's libertarian at all. She hasn't claimed to be. I think she's a fairly uncompromising person with strong ideas. Those ideas include an ethos of service. And even as willful as she is, she has practice compromising and actually making executive decisions, taking what is realistic even if it's not what she really preferred. She really *did* cut the budget for the Governor in Alaska by something like 80%.

She shows up to the McCain campaign... needs clothes and polishing... and the "staff" gets pissy that the hick with the funny accent doesn't know her place.

I heard Rice talk about being proud of the country and I've seen some friends of mine post similar sentiments on Facebook pages and the like. Am I the only one who finds it a little odd to talk this way? As an analogy, I wouldn't say that I am proud of my parents; I would say that I am proud to be the child of my parents. What does it mean to be proud of your country? Is this not condescending?

"...she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books."

It's called opportunism. Hey, if someone gave me a credit card and told me to go to town, I'd do it! But I don't go around talking "real America" and "small towns" 5 minutes later. It's called hypocrisy. Palin fans refuse to acknowledge this, because it means they have been duped, fooled, and misled. I get it. It takes guts to admit you were wrong.

I had a hard time when John Edwards' affair came out, and felt like a total jackass for supporting him. But it's called humility. You admit you were wrong and you move on. It's as if rejecting Palin is just too difficult for her fans, particularly women, because it means they are rejecting a piece of themselves!

And who can't even *imagine* that in the chaos of rushing from one hotel room in one city to the next, that stuff might get lost. Because NO ONE looses stuff when they travel for vacations or business.

Bristol Palin will be photographed wearing that cream colored coat her mother wore at the RNC in a matter of days, trust me. Oh, we thought it was "lost," but it just must have ended up in someone else's bag.

Well, I just finished reading DONN's entire website. No word on what the deal is with his name. Oh well.

Synova, your excuses are cute. I admire your loyalty and hope Mrs. Palin does whatever she needs to do to keep you convinced. It's none of my business and I don't care about her clothes, whether or not she lost them, or how much they cost. The bit about the towels is still hilarious and I almost like her because of it.

Me too! I've admired her since the 1980s, when she came on the scene as a Soviet expert, fluent in Russian. I love the way she (unlike some black conservatives) doesn't studiously ignore the fact that she's black, but nor has she ever allowed that to affect her choices or opportunities in the slightest. She's got that just right. Gracious!

In the middle of 2009, when the Democratic Congress and the Democratic Administration are flailing, you'll still be pissing towards Palin, because you know in which direction your own team's doom awaits.

Another RINO can go to hell with her racial bullshit. Or was she even ever a RINO? I think she was a Democrat. Bush has to be the stupidest POTUS ever to have all these traitorous dogs in his administration....

I vow to fight this criminal Chicago machine politics with every fiber of my being for every second until he is gone in Jan 2013... Not a single moment of peace will be for Hussein. He better learn to deal with 50 million angry Americans who will not take his socialist bullshit.

The sadness and touching sentiments expressed here are pure class. Watching the video has stirred emotions deep within me that I do not understand. This confusion has caused me to make my own animation of the video and provide the magnificent Condoleezza Rice with dialogue that I do understand.

Just to be clear, I don't think Sarah Palin is stupid. She obviously is not stupid. But she's miles and miles from being ready for the presidency. And the McCain campaign didn't seem to know that when they selected her.

A lot of what Cameron had to say made the McCain camp look petty, mean and bullying. I cringed on her behalf as I watched it. It was vicious to leak it. But I don't think it was invented.

So, what's it mean? The McCain campaign put someone on the national stage who was clearly unready for such responsibility. They virtually guaranteed she'd be eaten alive and combined with the leaks out there now are bidding fair to destroy her career.

In my life, I've known quite a few citizen-politicians like Palin (mostly liberals) whose careers started at a local level, motivated by the right thing, a sense of civic responsibility. They were also smart and they made a great contribution. They were also unready for the presidency, because they hadn't lived their lives up to that time trying to prepare for a high-flying political career. That's how I see Palin -- one of those housewives or small business owners who ended up as local political fixtures after starting as part-time activists. Given time to develop, who knows how far Palin could go. It's part of the unwisdom of McCain's selection of her that no matter how well she prepares in the future, she'll always be stuck with her botched roll-out.

Whoa! I just watched the clip of Cameron reporting on Palin. Here it is.

She didn't know what countries are in NAFTA?!?!

Well, Michelle Malkin and her ilk will still defend Palin's selection because she liked to shoot moose and didn't abort a Downs Syndrome baby. Malkin today: "But two fundamental conservative stands she took mattered greatly to me: She vigorously defended the Second Amendment and the sanctity of life more eloquently in practice than any of the educated conservative aristocracy."

But...she didn't know what countries are in NAFTA?! And she thought Africa is a country?!!

I realize ignorance is different from stupidity. But wasn't it pretty stupid of her to think she should be VP when she's SO IGNORANT?

Or maybe she was just in it for the Neiman Marcus shopping sprees.

Andrew Sullivan has this:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

Yikes.

BTW, any word on whether Levi is still going through with the shotgun marriage to Bristol?

But wasn't it pretty stupid of her to think she should be VP when she's SO IGNORANT?

And of course it ruined McCain's case that he had the judgment to be Prez.

And to think that the Palin lovers in these comment sections kept saying they wished Palin were top of the ticket!

Given all the wackjobs that have taken over the GOP, maybe now is an opportunity for the Libertarian Party to mainstread itself and make a bid at becoming the second major party. Let the GOP become some fringey regional party. If the Libertarians could find a bunch of charismatic, personable candidates similar to Arnold Schwartzenegger, who knows, maybe they could rise up as a more mainstream party that either forced the a revolution within the GOP or gradually took over major party status from it.

Sorry, Sarah Palin ain't winning the White House in 2012, folks. She may not even been Governor of Alaska much longer.....

Donn said... "I don't disagree with this point, and have been saying so since the KC interviews. However, that being said, she isn't any more stupid than Joe Biden, and he IS the VP."

ahhh Donn, you underestimate Ms. Palin. She is way "more supid" than Biden. Not even close. Give her some credit.

By the way, wasn't this thread about Ms. Rice's comments?

I was never impressed by her but that was a good statement and well put. It is what a lot of people are thinking and I'm glad she said it.

and now that I'm being so nice, let's balance it out...Don't argue with Seven Nachos...for the years I've been commenting here he remains the same cold cereal in a cardboard box. Don't open it and expect wisdom...it will always be Rice Krispies.

I wondered who would be the first person from the left to respond to Rice's display of graciousness and class by demonstrating the complete lack thereof. And along came VERSO! Let's all give him/her a round of applause!!

As for the word Obamanation, I hope that those who use it will eventually realize how much it sounds like "abomination," and STOP. The word is not creating the effect that you intend!

The claims by some here that it is racist or somehow otherwise disgraceful to use a person's actual initials in referring to him are not only hilarious, but also have given me a musical earworm."LBJ took the IRT Down to Wall Street, USA.When he got there, What did he see? The youth of America on LSD! LBJ... IRT... USA ...LSD!

Now it'll be stuck in my head all day. Thanks a lot.

Meanwhile, I went looking for the evidence that somebody challenged somebody else to find regarding the use of Obama's initials. Here's an article about the Obama campaign's sensitivity regarding the issue, which clarifies why the use of all three initials isn't widespread. And here, under "initials, presidential" is a fascinating little dissertation by the ever-erudite William Safire about the history of presidential nicknaming-by-initial.

I agree with Tapper that Obama deserves credit for not taking the easy way out and changing his name. I also agree with Synova that given the choice between BHO and BO, I know which one I'd choose!

verso: Can you imagine the fury and rage we'd be seeing from the Republican Party right now if Michelle Obama said this country "continues to surprise?" Or that the US has not yet perfected the union? It would be fodder for days worth of classic wingnut thrashing and moaning.

Give me a break. If you can't discern the difference between "My country continues to surprise me" and "For the first time, I'm really proud of my country," and "The US has not yet perfected the union" (a perfectly clear reference to "In order to form a more perfect union...") and "The US is a mean country," then you, quite simply, need a remedial course in reading comprehension.

Palin continues to enrage the left. I think it's because every fault they accuse her of, one of their candidates possess to a greater degree.

Lack of experience: Obama's executive experience is non-existent. He's never even made a tough legislative decision.

Stupidity/Lack of Eloquence, etc.: Joe Biden. This guy was supposed to bring the experience in foreign policy and he said we got Hezbollah out of Lebanon in the debate (huh????) ...among countless other ridiculous statements.

Democrats simply couldn't tolerate that she -- a minority!! -- energized the republican base so late in the game. She *had* to be destroyed. And they did a great job of it. She helped some, with her interviews, I won't deny. But they went after her daughter, and her baby. Well done!

(As far as McCain's campaign they are obviously complete idiots. I sometimes doubted that them even wanted him to win. I take anything leaked from them with a big grain of salt.)

As far as McCain's campaign they are obviously complete idiots. I sometimes doubted that them even wanted him to win. I take anything leaked from them with a big grain of salt.

Excellent observation. That Carl Cameron report should have reflected more on John McCain's campaign and staff than on Sarah Palin. Good, professional, dedicated (not to mention loyal!)people don't engage in this kind of crap. And the evidence of that is that this started even before the election.

In reference to the comment you chose to highlight on your blog, I don't understand why the Republicans are singled out for being vicious and partisan. Remember the effigies of Bush wearing a yellow star? Remember the constant Bush/Hitler comparisons. Remember the "art" depicting the assassination of Bush. Can't you get past this even when you win?

Sarah Palin was an honor student in her high school. Her parents insisted on good grades and her father was a high school science teacher. I doubt very much that someone with her background is misinformed that Africa is a country. It simply doesn't compute, sorry. This one should be filed along with her fake high school transcripts. The amount of slander that has been dumped upon this woman is sickening, and frankly, reveals the true tolerance and inclusiveness of the slanderers.

Oh come on. The differences between the negative things Michele Obama has had to say about America ("downright mean" comes to mind) and the graciousness of what Condi Rice said ought to be clear to anybody who doesn't have blinders on. And given the countless race-related attacks that have been leveled at Ms. Rice over the past eight years by guess who, the post-racial party of tolerance, I really wish we could just please for crying out loud DROP THE SUBJECT for once?? Just because she and Michele Obama are both female and black doesn't mean they are otherwise comparable!

The difference between Condi Rice making these statements and Michelle Obama making these statements is that Condi Rice is, well, Condi Rice. She's taken fire from people from every direction for seven years for her service to the country, there is no question where her commitment is and what motivates her.

The commenter about Republicans bleeding out their eyesockets if Michelle Obama said these things is correct, assuming you completely disregard the context of who's saying the statements and what price they've paid. I don't remember anyone calling Michelle Obama a "house negro".

It's unfortunate that you would quote Verso, Ann. A commenter silly enough to dismiss Bobby Jindal, the Rhodes Scholar who has spent his career reforming the swamp thickets of Louisiana government, as an "affirmative-action pick" marks them as unserious.

This country made tremendous progress on Tuesday, that is certain. The fact of the results should put the lie to the argument that this country has yet to reach a point where a person's abilities matter more than his race.

I would observe, however, the results indicate, and as is indicated in this comments thread and elsewhere, that the evidence is clear that we have yet to achieve Martin's dream - that we should all be treated based on the content of our character alone, and not by the color of our skin.

Because like it or not, there is a large percentage, the true size of which we will never know, who voted the way they did solely on the issue of race. An act, which is certainly something to cluck about, may end up serving the greater good by being a shining example of why basing any decision solely on race is a phenomenally stupid and ignorant thing to do.

I will agree with the statement that the election of an African American to the Presidency is an historic, important and likely necessary step towards achieving Martin's dream, which I share - if for no other reason than it takes a tremendous amount of wind out of the victimology and hatemongering that has been the staple undercurrent of racial discussions in this country for far too long. And it is in keeping with Martin's dream that I certainly do wish it was someone else that had achieved that distinction.

Condi is a completely first rate, class act, from start to finish. I've been proud, and happy to celebrate her many accomplishments of the past eight years, and will be forever grateful to her for her steadfast and honorable service to this nation. She achieved this through the strength of her character, and her substantial abilities, just as it should be.

Then again, one could accuse me of gushing over a hometown hero, and generational peer. Because Condi and I are both about the same age, and we both grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.

I'm comfortable that both of us took some very useful, positive lessons from the experiences of our childhood in that broken environment. It'll be nice when the rest of the country catches up to us, and groks them as well.

I don't believe Palin didn't know Africa is a continent. Just like I don't think Barack Obama believes the US has 57 or more states.

My guess is there was a similar stumbling over words, and the staffers, already dissatisfied with Palin, jumped on that.

I agree that one of Palin's problems was that she wasn't prepared on national and international issues. But naming the continents is early grade-school level material. I'd be surprised to learn that Piper Palin doesn't know Africa is a continent.

Palladian's right, by the way: Fuck the Fair Weather Friends six ways from Sunday-but I'll get to that later.

Secretary Rice made me proud to be a longtime supporter of her, no matter what some of my rather angry Freeper friends said about her. She had a right to be emotionally proud that the nation passed a watermark on Tuesday, and that an African-American became President. Very few people here had to go through what she did as a child in Birmingham. It's worth noting that Obama did not have to go through what she did in Birmingham.

That said, I look forward to her further adventures in politics as we rebuild the Republican Party and the Conservative movement. Her voice will be worth hearing.

The slams against Palin sound like the Romneybots leaking to Carl Cameron. I'm going to defend Palin here. One, yes, she was an honor student, so I don't put much stock in the Africa comment. Two, she was head of the Interstate Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, so the notion that Palin didn't know who was in NAFTA should be considered laughable in its face. The Romney crowd are desperate to kill her now because Mitt is such a phoney store mannequin.

The truth about Mitt Romney? He couldn't beat Heinrich Himmler in a contest for Mayor of Tel Aviv. Mitt Romney would lose to Paul Tibbets if they held a race for Mr. Congeniality in Hiroshima. Mitt Romney is a cheap, two-bit phony of a candidate with Brylcream hair whose paid Grima Wormtongues got themselves installed into the McCain campaign like so many pilot fish. Once Palin was picked, Romney saw his future at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue going up in smoke because he saw how she connected with crowds. So, when his bots were not spending money on Proposition 8 in California trying to take away matrimonial rights from my brother and his husband, they were engaged in hostile leaking against Sarah Palin. That's what's going on now.

Lastly, I agree with Palladian: screw the Fair Weather Fairies. Wait till the going gets tough, the Iranians sink an aircraft carrier, and Obama has to declare war to survive in office and reinstate the draft and carry out the largest land invasion since WWII.

Then where will all you antiwar HOPEYCHANGEY assclowns be? Eh?

I tell you where you'll be: supporting the war and the draft, that's where. Yellow ribbons on your cars and all that. Trust me, downtownlad will be the first in line to buy war bonds.

I can smell a Nice big slam bang WWII-style war coming a thousand miles away. But first, let's strip the opposition of their right to speak and pass that Fairness Doctrine!

More lurid, imagined straw men . . . you didn't like those when they were being done to you, did you, Althouse?

It didn't bother you at the time, and I guess it still doesn't bother you that Michelle Obama said: "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country"

That's very different from talking about making our country more perfect. I wouldn't expect a liberal to pick up on the subtle* difference between talking about how perfect/great America is, and whether you feel in your heart, any pride whatsoever.

* it's not subtle to me. But I wouldn't expect a liberal to notice the difference.

But instead they remain bilious and vituperative.The terms 'unsportsmanlike' and 'sore winners' come to mind.

Yeah, kind of sad. It's like the people who won't slap hands and say "good game" after the games done.

On topic, I heard the Condi snip on the radio and I am happy for her. I don't think it makes me proud of the country or anything, but I am happy for people like Juan Williams, and Condi and my boss and the 15 year old on the radio yesterday who said this made her believe she could do anything. I think she always could (hell, look at Condi!), but if she needed this to make her believe then I am happy for her.

I hope (thanks Obama :) race stuff can kind of calm down now. There are a few racists still left, but not enough to make a difference. That should say something, right?

Condi Rice isn't the only GOPer making very gracious and healing statements - they're all over the place. But that's not really a surprise, is it? Didn't every one of us, Repub and Dem, expect the gracious concessions and genuine good wishes from Republicans? Of course we did. Because we know Republicans understand that's what decent people do after a scrap - they know that if you don't make an effort to reconcile, the disagreements can fester into something malignant and eternal.

Now turn the tables - does anyone really think a Rahm Emanuel or James Carville or Paul Begala would be making similarly heartfelt and gracious comments should Obama have fallen short? Of course we wouldn't. Because we know that for far too many Democrats (and for even more of those who are farther left), winning is everything. For too many the race never ends, and there is nothing but winning.

There won't be any such admissions in rooms full of strangers, and not many admissions in rooms full of friends. But in our hearts, we know it's true. And it is one of the essential differences in the people who make up the parties.

The more I think about it the more it bothers me that any comparison at all is drawn between Condi Rice and Michele Obama, who have nothing in common that I can see other than their gender and their race -- not their professions, not their backgrounds, not their politics, nothing. I really thought that we were past that. Or that most of us were, anyway.

Note that these gracious comments came from a woman whom (white) lefty political cartoonist Ted Rall once depicted as Bush's "house slave." Can anyone imagine Jesse Jackson weeping if Condi had just been elected president as a Republican? For that matter, can anyone imagine liberal feminists being even half this gracious if Sarah Palin had been elected VP?

Regarding the lefty commentor's remarks about "What if Michelle Obama had made these remarks...":

Condi Rice has proved over and over her devotion to and patriotism for America. No one can question that. When has Michelle Obama ever done anything but bitch and whine? She didn't earn the nickname, "Ms. Grievance" for nothing.

JackSince when does Mrs. Obama "Bitch and whine"? She has a very exceptional, calm well spoken demeanor like her husband and speaks about issues. If speaking about subjects that really matter and/or criticizing something means you're "bitching and whining" than so be it!